Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

I posted this 10 years ago. This may be more legend than fact. 

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• Well, that was a wild day. Thoughts . . . 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The next court date isn't until December. By that time, either Georgia has indicted Trump for election tampering and/or the U.S. Government has indicted him for obstruction in the documents case or for the January 6th Insurrection.  In the end, yesterday might become an afterthought. 
• The circus outside was a bad circus for Trump because only the nutcases of Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos showed up for support. And they quickly fled. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• As she left, Greene gave one interview in her car to one of the nutty Trump cable networks where she said "President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history in being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus was arrested and murdered . . . . .". And to top it off, the reporter kissed her.  
  
  
  
• I'm actually sympathetic to Trump in some legal nerdy ways:
• In his defense, I think it's a little weird that its a misdemeanor in New York to "falsify business records" even with the records are kept internally or not kept at all. There is an element of "intent to defraud" but that's certainly a murky standard. (New York Penal Law §175.05)
• And I think it's weird that the the case gets to be upgraded to a felony when you additionally "intend to commit another crime" (§175.10) but the indictment, which is supposed to put you on notice of what the government says you did wrong, doesn't have to specify what that specific crime is. 
• Along those lines, the DA filed a 13 page "Statement of Facts" but even it doesn't cite the extra crime that Trump allegedly intended to commit.  Side note: I don't what the purpose of that document is. 
• My sympathy ends there. He was grifting off a fake mugshot even before the arraignment occurred.
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• Trump, despite the judge's warning, went of a rant last night of Mar-a-Lago.  I'll say it again and again: The normal Republicans have got to take control back of their party.  
  
   
• Then again, we are, collectively, the dumbest country in the world and probably deserve whatever is coming regardless of what it is.  
  
• Speaking of. Wise County's Congressman continues to embarrass us every day. He called the New York District Attorney "Fat Alvin."  
  
  
  
• There was a 20 year old man, Justin Carl, booked into the Wise County jail yesterday on a murder charge. The "date of offense" listed is the same date as listed for the previous arrests of one juvenile and one 17 year old who were charged in the death of 19-year-old Matthew Ryan Brown of Decatur. 
  
  
  
• The 10 year sentence of the former Boyd assistant high school principal made the front page of the Star-Telegram.  That sentence was a the result of a plea bargain, and he'll have to serve at least five years before becoming eligible for parole.  
  
  
  
• The most significant event in U.S. politics may not have been Trump's arraignment yesterday. It might be that the swing state of Wisconsin is now firmly Democratic and will stay that way. In the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, a Democrat won a statewide Supreme Court race by a shocking 10 points giving the court a 5-4 liberal majority for issues of abortion and gerrymandering. In the end, the fallout from Dobbs overturning Roe v. Wade will continue to cause shock waves.
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I finally took the time to watch the four minute video in this, now dropped, murder case in Tarrant County.  The mixture of everyone being armed and everyone quick to pull out their guns is what lead to needless death. (The full video is quick loading and amazingly can be found right now on the normally awful home page of the Star-Telegram.) A short 30 second version is here but it's not as informative.
  
  
  
• Heck of a pic of the Nashville gun protests at their capitol.
  
  
  
• I'm not sure what prompted Baylor to do this, but it dawned on me I was alive when Baylor had no black graduates. 
  
  
  
• I saw the term "arrested" thrown around a lot yesterday.  I think anyone who's ever been arrested would tell you that wasn't an arrest. 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Two Bridgeport men died in separate motorcycle accidents.

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•  A body was found over the weekend off of Cuba Road east of Bridgeport. The speculation is that it is the guy who stole and then abandoned a Mann Refrigeration truck in February, but who was never found. Until now. 
  
  
  
• Jacksboro news. He was 22.
  
  
  
• When I said I expected Trump to take a highly publicized motorcade from Trump Tower to the courthouse, I didn't expect it would start at Mar-a-Lago yesterday.  And the media coverage of him is a campaign gift of biblical proportions. Today will be insane. 
  

  

  As he left his home to go to Florida airport

  

  As he was landing
  
  
• As Trump was about to make the brief walk to Trump Tower in Manhattan, I wanted someone to yell into this guy's earpiece, "Straighten your tie!" It really bugged me. 
  
  
  
• It sounds like there won't be a book-in photo. But don't forget the greatest book-in photo of all time: Tom DeLay. 
  
  
  
• Seems not good in Richardson this morning.  A food truck, on its side, on a DART rail off of Central Expressway. 
  
  
  
• 152 rounds. Totally normally. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Crime creation. It's been a while since I've written, "Too many cops. Too many prosecutors.™"
  
  
  
  
• As more proof that Texas legislators have lost their minds, a new bill by Sen. Phil King wants to require the 10 Commandments, in the King James Version, to be posted in every public elementary school.
  
  
   
• Not to be outdone, another bill would allow public schools to replace certified counselors with someone who represents themselves as a "chaplain." 
  
  
  
• Very movie-like: A pro-Russian military blogger was given a piece of art at a speaking engagement, and then it blew up killing him.  Russia has arrested a woman for delivering the bomb, and is blaming Ukraine. Here is security video of the explosion as seen from outside. (I'm sure there is video of the explosion from inside, but it was not released.)

  

  Holding the gift moments before explosion

  
  

  

  Delivering the gift

  
  
• Stopped me down: The picture of wrestling kingpin Vince McMahon looking like Clark Gable as he appeared at press conference yesterday to announce the sale of the WWE. 
  
  
  
• How's the Michael Irvin defamation lawsuit against Marriott going?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

The aftermath of the unsolved murder of Kaufman County DA was still making the news, and I had forgotten how the Aryan Brotherhood was the target of speculation. The story of a federal prosecutor in Houston withdrawing from an unrelated prosecution of the gang because of "security concerns" was one of the headlines.  

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• The results of a lightning bolt in Decatur yesterday.
  
  
  
• I fear the road rage of the nutcases out there. A woman was shot in the neck in Grapevine on Friday morning.
  
• This is the 30 year old guy from Euless who was arrested.
  
  
  
• I found his shirt. It's a Christmas t-shirt with a fake button that says, "Does this shirt make me look fat?"
  
• The tornados in Arkansas were rally bad, but one of the best phone videos I found of its power this one where it transformed the landscape in about five seconds.  Below is a "before" screenshot from an unsuspecting guy.
  
  
  
• Speaking of "before" . . . 
  
  
  
• . . . compared to now.
  
  
  
• If Trump doesn't take a motorcade from Trump Tower down to the Manhattan courthouse tomorrow, I'll be very disappointed. If he wants a show -- and he does -- that would be a heck of a show. 
  
  
  
• There were two very bad wrecks that all happened right before dawn on Sunday morning.
• Lake Worth (that's the 820 overpass over Jacksboro highway)
  
  
  

  
  
  
• Carrollton (wrong way driver in express lane)
  
  
  
• Fox News is in trouble in the Dominion lawsuit.  The trial judge on Friday ruled that the election lies that Fox hosts said about Dominion were clearly false and the jury would not be asked to rule on that issue. The only remaining issues will be (1) whether Fox News knew they were false or had a "reckless disregard for the truth" and, if so, (2) damages.  
  
  
  
• Court's judgment here.
  
  
  
• This is real. Video.
  
  
  
• A Connecticut lawmaker was arrested for DWI. The following happened when asked to submit a sample of her breath. . Video.
  
  
  
• Everyone sure seems bent out of shape because of what happened at the end of the women's national championship game. I wouldn't have done it, but it didn't really bother me.  (Here's videos/thread of what it's about.)
  
  
  
• Liberally Lean Pick 'Em is now final. "Ashleigh's Best Bracket" picked up some points by having Connecticut in the final two, but that will be the last points in the tournament which was heavily weighted for first and second round picks and upsets.